Joint development pact advances $40M Lincoln Mill redevelopment

Tim Harrington of LHL Holdings LLC and Eric Chinburg of Chinburg Properties announced their partnership to redevelop the Lincoln Mill in downtown Biddeford.

The Journal Tribune reported the Biddeford City Council approved a joint development agreement between the city and LHL Holdings regarding the redevelopment, which is expected to surpass $40 million. Phase 1 includes 181 apartment units, meeting spaces, a restaurant, a 10,000-square-foot fitness club and rooftop amenities, with construction expected to begin by the end of 2017 and the expectation that it will take two years to complete.

Speaking at the council meeting, Town Manager Jim Bennett cited studies showing that market-rate residential units contribute $22,000 per residential unit annually into the local economy.

"With the units proposed in Phase 1, that's about $4 million that would be generated into the community as a result of the project," he said.

The city is granting a tax financing increment agreement of $150,000 per year for the project, which can be used to offset certain project costs.

Some residents were skeptical of the project. Regarding the TIF, former Biddeford Mayor Joanne Twomey said, "We need more firemen, policemen. At the end of the day you're not making a lot of money, you're helping a developer and I don't think that's what government is all about."

The mill, which manufactured commodity and specialty tissue products for customers in the United States and internationally, went out of business in December 2015.